Yanbaru National Park | |
Alt Name: | やんばる国立公園 |
Iucn Category: | II |
Location: | Yanbaru, Okinawa, Japan |
Coords: | 26.8058°N 128.2659°W |
Map: | Japan Ryukyu Islands#Japan |
Label: | Yambaru National Park |
Relief: | y |
Area Km2: | 173.52 |
Established: | 15 September 2016 |
Governing Body: | Ministry of the Environment (Japan) |
is a national park in Okinawa Prefecture, Japan. Established in 2016, it is located in and around the forested region of Yambaru at the northern end of Okinawa Island. The park comprises a land area of 13622ha in the villages of Kunigami, Ōgimi, and Higashi together with 3670ha of the surrounding waters. The day of establishment, 15 September, coincides with the anniversary of the 1983 discovery of the endangered endemic .[1] [2] [3]
Future extension of the Park is contingent upon the reversion of land currently occupied by the US military as the Northern Training Area. The northern part of Okinawa Island that corresponds with Yambaru was in 2016 submitted for inscription on the UNESCO World Heritage List as part of the serial nomination Amami-Ōshima Island, Tokunoshima Island, northern part of Okinawa Island, and Iriomote Island.[2] [4] In 2021 was inscribed to World Heritage List.